Inequality Representation Research Articles

The Unequal Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Political Interest Representation

The COVID-19 pandemic is viewed by many as the biggest global crisis since WWII and had profound effects on the daily lives of people and decision-making worldwide. Using the pandemic as a system-wide agenda shock, we employ a difference-in-differences design to estimate its causal effects on inequalities in political access, and social media prominence among business interests and NGOs. Our argument is twofold. First, the urgency and uncertainty of crises incentivized decision-makers to privilege providing access to business groups over securing inclusivity in the types of interests consulted. Second, NGOs compensated by increasing prominence in public communications. Our analysis of data from over 10,000 interest groups from over 100 countries registered in the European Union supports these hypotheses. Business interests successfully capitalized on the crisis in insider access, while NGOs increased prominence on social media. The results have wider implications for understanding how large-scale crises affect inequalities in representation.

Electoral colorism: Candidate skin color and list placement in Ecuador

To what extent does candidate skin color influence party list placement in proportional representation systems? While candidate skin color is increasingly understood to play an important role in politics, the extent to which it shapes electoral opportunities and outcomes remains unclear. In this paper, we investigate whether party elites in list proportional representation systems place darker-skinned candidates in lower, less advantageous list positions than their lighter-skinned copartisans. Drawing on party lists from Ecuador’s 2021 National Assembly elections and an original measure of candidate skin color, we find evidence that candidate skin color is a significant determinant of list placement. This finding indicates that party lists reinforce color-based inequalities in political representation and reveals that a candidate’s skin color shapes their chances of winning elected office.

Neurocomputational evidence that conflicting prosocial motives guide distributive justice

In the history of humanity, most conflicts within and between societies have originated from perceived inequality in resource distribution. How humans achieve and maintain distributive justice has therefore been an intensely studied issue. However, most research on the corresponding psychological processes has focused on inequality aversion and has been largely agnostic of other motives that may either align or oppose this behavioral tendency. Here we provide behavioral, computational, and neuroimaging evidence that distribution decisions are guided by three distinct motives-inequality aversion, harm aversion, and rank reversal aversion-that interact with each other and can also deter individuals from pursuing equality. At the neural level, we show that these three motives are encoded by separate neural systems, compete for representation in various brain areas processing equality and harm signals, and are integrated in the striatum, which functions as a crucial hub for translating the motives to behavior. Our findings provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the cognitive and biological processes by which multiple prosocial motives are coordinated in the brain to guide redistribution behaviors. This framework enhances our understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying equality-related behavior, suggests possible neural origins of individual differences in social preferences, and provides a new pathway to understand the cognitive and neural basis of clinical disorders with impaired social functions.

The Impact of Consociationalism on Female Political Representation: The Case Study of Mauritius

ABSTRACT By prioritising ethnic representation over gender representation, consociationalism is often criticised as being ‘gender blind’. This trend is very apparent in Mauritius’s consociational democracy as ethnicity is deeply entrenched in its different electoral practices ranging from the nominations of candidates, coalitions negotiations, the influence of religious organisations, the ethnicisation of the main political parties and voters’ perceptions. The focus on ethnic politics is so overwhelming that it side-tracks other important issues in the Mauritian political system like persistent inequalities in gender representation. This research relies on data from the Office of the Electoral Commissioner in Mauritius and Statistics Mauritius to analyse gender representation over the last 12 general elections. The findings show that the problem of low female political representation lies in a faulty institutional architecture designed to cater for ethnic representation without due regard to the problem of gender inequality. This problem is amplified by a serious lack of political will and consensus on an electoral reform that can correct this problem.

With Great Power Comes Gender Diversity: STEM Stereotypes and Marvel Superpowers

Gender representation inequality occurs across various STEM sub-disciplines. For example, the sub-disciplines of computer science and engineering are male-dominant, while psychology and biological sciences are female-dominant. One possible cause of this gender inequality is the STEM professional stereotype; created, in large part, by media portrayals of STEM scientists. Across four studies I analyze the gender representation in portrayals of STEM skills in Marvel comics and their relation to real-world STEM educational outcomes, namely, bachelor’s degrees attained in STEM. Study #1 shows that the portrayals of many STEM skills are gender biased for Marvel characters debuting before 1991. Study #2 shows that this gender bias in Marvel comics correlated with real-world STEM educational outcomes. Study #3 shows that Marvel characters debuting after 2000 show no gender biases in the portrayals of STEM skills. Finally, Study #4 makes predictions of how real-world educational outcomes are expected to change due to the increased gender equality in the portrayal of STEM skills in popular media.

Fair transport policies for older people: accessibility and affordability of public transport in Santiago, Chile.

In this paper, we test how different public transport policy scenarios score in terms of fairness for a specific population group, considering a more complex representation of mobility-related inequalities and the policy implications of transport justice. To do so, we assess potential accessibility to public transport in Santiago de Chile under different policy scenarios, focusing on older people as a group whose demographic and socioeconomic conditions can determine different forms of disadvantage. We compare alternative accessibility policies based on the expansion of the Metro infrastructure network or on reduced public transport fares, considering the interaction between the spatial availability and the affordability of public transport. Results show that subsidized fares for public transport services are more beneficial to expand the accessibility of older people, especially those with lower incomes, while the expansion of the Metro network benefits mainly middle- and high-income older people. The proposed analysis is a first step towards a more detailed, place-based reading of mobility-related inequalities, aimed at assessing alternative policy measures.

COVID-19-Specific Mortality among World Trade Center Health Registry Enrollees Who Resided in New York City.

We examined the all-cause and COVID-19-specific mortality among World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR) enrollees. We also examined the socioeconomic factors associated with COVID-19-specific death. Mortality data from the NYC Bureau of Vital Statistics between 2015-2020 were linked to the WTCHR. COVID-19-specific death was defined as having positive COVID-19 tests that match to a death certificate or COVID-19 mentioned on the death certificate via text searching. We conducted step change and pulse regression to assess excess deaths. Limiting to those who died in 2019 (n = 210) and 2020 (n = 286), we examined factors associated with COVID-19-specific deaths using multinomial logistic regression. Death rate among WTCHR enrollees increased during the pandemic (RR: 1.70, 95% CL: 1.25-2.32), driven by the pulse in March-April 2020 (RR: 3.38, 95% CL: 2.62-4.30). No significantly increased death rate was observed during May-December 2020. Being non-Hispanic Black and having at least one co-morbidity had a higher likelihood of COVID-19-associated mortality than being non-Hispanic White and not having any co-morbidity (AOR: 2.43, 95% CL: 1.23-4.77; AOR: 2.86, 95% CL: 1.19-6.88, respectively). The racial disparity in COVID-19-specific deaths attenuated after including neighborhood proportion of essential workers in the model (AOR:1.98, 95% CL: 0.98-4.01). Racial disparities continue to impact mortality by differential occupational exposure and structural inequality in neighborhood representation. The WTC-exposed population are no exception. Continued efforts to reduce transmission risk in communities of color is crucial for addressing health inequities.

The Voice of the Absent? The Link Between Descriptive and Substantive Representation of the Working Class in Western Europe

Recent research has revealed a considerable representation gap disadvantaging the lower social class in the political process. However, we know little about the underlying mechanisms of this bias or the measures that could compensate for it. Combining cross-national data from a general population survey and an elite-level survey, the present article addresses this knowledge deficit by looking at one potential determinant of working-class underrepresentation: the unequal composition of parliaments. Building on arguments for descriptive representation, I argue that members of the working class experience similar living situations and life chances that form their preferences. Consequently, working-class politicians may be better suited to representing working-class views. The results confirm lower congruence levels between the political elite and working-class citizens. However, class-based preference gaps among politicians are relatively small, and politicians’ social class appears to have a limited impact on compensating for the representational inequality of the working class.

Who Represents the Renters?

Owning a home profoundly shapes Americans’ economic and political lives and preferences. A wide body of housing policy research suggests that homeowners receive favorable treatment from public policy at all levels of government. We know virtually nothing, however, about the descriptive representation of renters and homeowners. This paper combines a novel data set of over 10,000 local, state, and federal officials with administrative data on property records to assess the descriptive representation of renters and homeowners in the United States. We find that renters are starkly underrepresented by a margin of over 30 percentage points—a gap that persists across a variety of institutional and demographic contexts. Public officials are substantially more likely to own single-family homes that are more valuable than other homes in their neighborhoods. Collectively, these findings suggest deep representation inequalities that disadvantage renters at all levels of government.

Authorship diversity in Gastroenterology-related Cochrane systematic reviews: Inequities in global representation.

The need for promoting diversity and equitable authorship representation in academics faces increasing recognition, with some articles pointing out the lack of diversity in specific fields. Currently, there are no such articles scrutinizing the author diversity in the field of Gastroenterology. Cochrane systematic reviews are perceived worldwide to be amongst the highest quality of evidence available, thereby its conclusions often impact policy and practice globally. However, little is known about the current state of authorship diversity in Gastroenterology-related Cochrane reviews.

Authorship diversity in hematology‐related Cochrane systematic reviews: Inequities in global representation

The need for promoting diversity and equitable authorship representation in academics faces increasing recognition, with some articles pointing out the lack of diversity in specific fields. Currently, there are no such articles scrutinizing the author diversity in the field of hematology. Cochrane systematic reviews are perceived worldwide to be among the highest quality of evidence available, thereby its conclusions often impact policy and practice globally. However, little is known about the current state of authorship diversity in hematology‐related Cochrane reviews.

Reducing or reproducing inequalities in health? An intersectional policy analysis of how health inequalities are represented in a Swedish bill on alcohol, drugs, tobacco and gambling

BackgroundAccording to post-structural policy analyses, policies and interventions aiming at reducing social inequalities have been found to be part in producing and reifying such inequalities themselves. Given the central role of health inequalities on the public health policy agenda globally it seems important to examine the way policy on health inequalities may potentially counteract the goal of health equity. The aim of this intersectional policy analysis, was to critically analyze the representation of health inequalities in a government bill proposing a national strategy on alcohol, drugs, tobacco and gambling, to examine its performative power, and to outline alternative representations.MethodA post-structural approach to policy analysis was combined with an intersectional framework. The material was analyzed through an interrogating process guided by the six questions of the “What’s the problem represented to be?” (WPR) approach. Thus, the underlying assumptions of the problem representation, its potential implications and historical background were explored. In a final step of the analysis we examined our own problem representations.ResultsThe recommendations found in the gender and equity perspective of the bill represented the problem of health inequalities as a lack of knowledge, with an emphasis on quantitative knowledge about differences in health between population groups. Three underlying assumptions supporting this representation were found: quantification and objectivity, inequalities as unidimensional, and categorization and labelling. The analysis showed how the bill, by opting into these partly overlapping assumptions, is part of enacting a discourse on health inequalities that directs attention to specific subjects (e.g., vulnerable) with special needs (e.g., health care), in certain places (e.g., disadvantaged neighborhoods). It also showed how underlying processes of marginalization are largely neglected in the bill due to its focus on describing differences rather than solutions. Finally, we showed how different intersectional approaches could be used to complement and challenge this, potentially counteractive, problem representation.ConclusionsThe problem representation of health inequalities and its underlying assumptions may have counteractive effects on health equity, and even though some of its strengths are raised, it seems to be profoundly entangled with a system resisting the kind of change that the bill itself advocates for. If carefully used, intersectionality has the potential to support a more comprehensive and inclusive equality-promoting public health policy and practice.

Systemic Inequities in Identification and Representation of Black Youth with Gifts and Talents: Access, Equity, and Missingness in Urban and Other School Locales

Recognizing civil unrest linked to systemic institutional inequity and gentrification of urban centers, this study examined access to, equity in, and missingness from gifted education of Black youth. With more than 80% of Black youth educated in cities and suburbs, underrepresentation in gifted programs plague urban centers. Examination of OCR Data by Title I School status revealed 45% fewer Black students identified in Title I Schools. Additionally, in every state and school locale, Black youth were underidentified on average by 50%. In 2016, 276,840 Black students were identified as gifted, with as many as 771,728 (73.60%) missing from identification.

Hierarchies of knowledge about intersectionality in marketing theory and practice

There is scant research regarding intersectionality and epistemic hierarchies in marketing, including connections and disconnections between knowledge about intersectionality produced in marketing scholarship and practice. Thus, we examine how market logics propelled by gendered racial capitalism and the commercialization of identity politics impact the production of knowledge about intersectionality in the marketing discipline and industry. We consider how the notion of “intersectionality” has been conceptualized and obfuscated in marketing scholarship and entwined industry discourse. Consequently, we provide a genealogy of how “intersectionality” has been framed in marketing studies and industry approaches which reflect the entanglements of knowledge production, the politics of representation, and the marketization of social justice. Overall, we contribute to scholarly interventions regarding how intersecting oppressions influence marketing and critical analyses of it, as well as the complex interrelationship between marketing, commercial representation, and discourses of identity, inequality, and structural change.

Authorship Diversity in Cochrane Systematic Reviews of Stroke: Inequities in Global Representation (P18-2.002)

Authorship Diversity in Cochrane Systematic Reviews of Stroke: Inequities in Global Representation (P18-2.002)

Looking Back to Move Forward: Continuing Community-centric Practices for Conservation and Collection Care of Pacific Collections in an Australian Museum

ABSTRACT The changing role of conservation necessitates the facilitation of space through which spiritual and physical interactions occur. Enabling balance between collections and communities past and present, establishes respect and acknowledgement for diverse cultural knowledge. To formalise this, a Methodology for Cultural Safety and Care was co-developed during the redevelopment of Te Pasifika exhibition at Museums Victoria (2018–2020). The framework looks to the past, to address the inequities in Pasifika representation and voice in cultural collections, then to the present, to create a robust platform for community-centric storytelling in Victoria, Australia, with respect to wider Moana (ocean) values. This centres orality, collaboration and community, drawing from cultural practice, ‘new’ guidelines for collection management, conservation and collections care, while providing a platform for collective Pasifika voices in an Australian context. Access to museum collections by members of a culturally diverse Pasifika diasporic community in Victoria, Australia, is integral to cultural maintenance and community wellbeing. Cultural knowledge continually transcends generations, moulding identities in new contexts, fluidly evolving, while adapting, changing and responding to community needs. The methodology challenges the rigidity of traditional museum ideology. Normalising Indigenous practices and values in a museum context removes distance between all involved and humanises museum practice, benefiting both those who interact with taonga (cultural treasures) and the taonga themselves. Reflecting on the implementation of this methodology, we emphasise the need to elevate cultural values as museum practice, affirming the viability of creating ongoing opportunities for community input.

How Politicians Downplay Lower‐Educated Citizens' Opinions

An important challenge facing political decision making today is inequality in representation. Political scientists have shown that the preferences of certain groups—especially those who have higher incomes or are better educated—systematically preponderate in political decision making. Trying to elucidate the mechanisms behind these findings, this research note explores one specific possible driver of representational inequality: that politicians downplay the opinions of disadvantaged groups, and here specifically, of the lower‐educated. By means of a survey experiment with politicians, we test the idea that politicians have a hard‐wired inclination to assume that the opinions of citizens who have received lower (i.e., vocational) education are less thoughtful than the opinions of citizens who followed a higher (i.e., general) education. The findings are somewhat ambiguous but the expectation is at least partly corroborated by the evidence. The findings illustrate the psychological foundations that may ultimately make politicians disregard the preferences of the lower‐educated.

Representations of poverty and social inequality in the Costa Rican social fiction narratives of the 1940s Generation

En este artículo se analizan las representaciones de la pobreza y la desigualdad social en los textos narrativos (en particular las novelas) producidos por una parte de la llamada generación del 40: aquella que se interesa por representar en su literatura una perspectiva social y realista. Así pues, se analizan algunas novelas de tres destacados narradores ubicados por la historiografía literaria en esta generación: Adolfo Herrera García, con su novela Juan Varela; Carlos Luis Fallas, con sus novelas Mamita Yunai, Gentes y Gentecillas y Marcos Ramírez, y Fabián Dobles, con sus novelas Ese que llaman pueblo y El sitio de las abras.

Robustness analysis of Adaptive Model Predictive Control for uncertain non-linear dynamic systems using s-gap metric concepts

Robustness analysis of adaptive control systems, when operating in a certain domain, has been a gulf during the past decades. This problem is more complicated in the case of non-linear dynamic systems including un-modelled dynamics as unstructured uncertainty. To find a clear solution for this famous and interesting problem, limitations and effects of controller operation on performance of on-line model identification procedure (and vice versa) must be determined. In this paper, as the main novelty, we show that it needs some developments and new concepts in robust control theory as the s-gap metric, generalized stability margin (GSM) and modifications on the gain bound calculation. These achievements help us to present an on-line identification method with its convergence proof in sense of the s-gap metric and a relation between GSM and identifier convergence area. Therefore, consideration of GSM in Adaptive Model Predictive Control (AMPC) cost function concludes a systematic solution relating controller robustness and adaptivity, clearly. To this aim, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) representation for GSM constraint is suggested. Also, the stability of AMPC on a certain operating domain is guaranteed in sense of the s-gap metric and GSM. All of these help to determine the attraction area of closed loop system and we show that there exists a trade-off between each two cases of the attraction area size, convergence area size and robustness of closed loop control system. Finally, simulations and experimental results imply on correctness of the proposed method.

Are professors of human nutrition faculty at Canadian universities representative with respect to common social constructs of gender and race?

Attributes such as sex and race/ethnicity are associated with inequities in representation. The objective of this study was to assess representation of two social constructs, gender and race, of professors of human nutrition in Canada. Using information publicly available October 2021, individuals with the title of assistant, associate, or full professor were identified on websites of 20 Canadian universities offering undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in human nutrition. Individuals were subjectively stratified to social constructs, i.e., White, Racialized, or Indigenous, based on photographs, ethnic origin of a surname, and regional and ethnic origin disclosures on university websites, LinkedIn, social media, etc. Gender was assigned based on publicly available photographs and self-disclosed pronouns (when available). Of the 190 individuals, 80% were White, 16.4% were Racialized, and 2.6% were Indigenous Peoples. The majority (65.3%) were Women. In a subset with established doctoral thesis dates and dates of hire at their current institution (n=153), Racialized and Indigenous professors, especially assistant and associate, had earned their doctorate and been hired more recently than their White peers. This study is limited because only individuals with professorial titles were included and the assignment of social constructs for race and gender was subjective. Nevertheless, it establishes an understanding of the proportions of professors of human nutrition who are White, Racialized, Indigenous, Women, and Men. Novelty bullets: • Canadian universities strive to be equitable, diverse, and inclusive • 190 professors of human nutrition were stratified using social constructs for race and gender • Findings: 65% Women, 80% White, 16.4% Racialized, and 2.6% Indigenous.